Author
The CRM is mandated to provide material reception conditions to asylum seekers and persons granted asylum in Serbia.[1]
In the course of the asylum procedure, asylum seekers are entitled to be accommodated in one of the 7 Asylum Centres or other designated facility established for that purpose,[2] which consist of 12 Reception Centres.
Persons issued with a registration certificate by the MoI are expected to present themselves at the reception facility indicated in the certificate (the name of the facility is introduced in the registration certificate) from where they can lodge their asylum application. The CRM shall confirm reception of the applicant with a mention to that end in the registration certificate.[3]
It can be said with certainty that at least several dozen foreigners lodged asylum application with the assistance of the CRM.[4]
As already outlined, the majority of reception centres accommodate foreigners who were not issued registration certificates, and who do not enjoy any other status in line with the Foreigners Act or other legislation. Thus, their stay is only tolerated by the CRM. For instance, many people who were staying in the Western camps (Adaševci, Šid and Principovci) or Northern camps (Subotica, Sombor or Kikinda) were not registered, or their certificates have expired, but they were attempting to cross the border with Croatia, Hungary or Romania on a daily basis. Their legal status was unregulated, and for that reason, they can be subject to different arbitrary practices such as denial of access to the reception centre during the night or denial of access to food or even medical care. Additionally, there was a significant number of persons residing in the informal settlements in Belgrade and at the border areas with Croatia, Hungary and Romania. Many of them are UASC.[5] They slept in tents or abandoned facilities, deprived of their minimum existential needs and are frequently raided by the MoI and then transferred to reception centres in the south of Serbia. However, since winter 2023, most of these settlements have been destroyed by Serbia security forces and the north of country now barely has any foreign nationals.[6]
In principle, every foreigner has the possibility to be accommodated in one of the reception facilities. Also those who did not wish to lodge an application in Serbia and instead wished to attempt to crossing into Croatia, Hungary and Romania were usually allowed to reside in the Reception Centres close to the border with said countries. UASC are all placed in Šid Asylum Centre, although they may briefly stay in other centres, as detailed below.
If the asylum seeker has the financial means to do so, they may stay outside the reception facilities at their own cost, and exclusively with the prior consent of the Asylum Office, which shall be given after the asylum application has been lodged. The current legal framework does not contain any provision on the obligation of asylum seekers to disclose their resources to the asylum authorities. Exceptionally, consent may also be given beforehand, if that is required for reasons of security of a foreigner whose intention to seek asylum has been registered.[7] Thus, in practice, the asylum seeker usually has to wait to lodge an asylum application and then submit the request to stay at a private address, which will be included in their ID card as their place of residence. The living conditions in many Asylum and Reception centres are unsatisfactory.[8] On 31 December 2022, 80 asylum seekers were residing in private accommodation, while this data is not available for 2023. In 2023, 81 UASCs were accommodated in RC Šid.[9]
[1] Article 23 Asylum Act; Chapters II and III Migration Management Act.
[2] Article 51(1) Asylum Act.
[3] Article 35(12) Asylum Act.
[4] Information obtained through the field work of IDEAS legal officers.
[5] UNHCR Statistical Report for 10 January 2021 highlighted that 1,354 persons were accounted for in informal settlements. On the other hand, Klikaktiv suggests this number likely approaches 3,100 instead. See Klikaktiv, More People, More Police and Less Safety, Annual Report 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3L2vp2K, 15.
[6] BVMN, Illegal pushbacks and border violence reports, Monthly Reports November and December 2023, but see also other reports which describe the life in the informal settlements available at: https://bit.ly/3TRdfnw.
[7] Article 50(8) Asylum Act.
[8] Practice-informed observation IDEAS, January 2024.
[9] Information obtained from the UNHCR office in Belgrade on 15 March 2024.